THE House of Representatives will prioritize the passage of the bill seeking to re-empower the National Food Authority (NFA) to help bring down the prices of rice, stabilize supply and strengthen support for farmers, Speaker Martin Romualdez said yesterday.
Romualdez said his House Bill No. 1, or the proposed “Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act,”seeks to amend the Rice Tariffication Law and restore the regulatory powers of the NFA to intervene in the rice market and prevent hoarding, profiteering and price manipulation.
He also said proposed measures that would ensure food security, education, employment and public health will be the focus of the House leadership in the 20th Congress in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call in his fourth recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) to bring the government to the people.
The Speaker said the House needs to pass the proposed RICE Act “to ensure a stable supply of affordable rice while protecting farmers from exploitation,” as he called for the eradication of smuggling, hoarding and price manipulation must through better law enforcement and agricultural reforms.
HBN 1 seeks to return the NFA’s authority to register and license grain warehouses, conduct inspections, monitor the rice trade and seize hoarded rice stocks and release them to the public to fight artificial shortages or price spikes which lawmakers have found to be the handiwork of hoarders and unscrupulous traders.
It also seeks to mandate the NFA to maintain buffer stocks sourced from local palay (unhusked rice) and authorizes it to set and enforce a floor price for its purchases, which would allow farmers to sell their harvest at fair and stable prices and ensure a more reliable and affordable rice supply for the public.
It likewise proposes to impose penalties of up to P2 million and two years of imprisonment for violators of the floor price policy and imposes lifetime disqualification from public office for government officials who will be found aiding or abetting hoarding or profiteering schemes.
The Speaker also announced plans to expand irrigation and post-harvest infrastructure and modernize farming to make agriculture more profitable.
He likewise called for the institutionalization of the “Walang Gutom” program in the 2026 national budget through monthly electronic food credits for poor families.
Also at the House, a member of the newly formed three-man independent bloc said their group is unlikely to ally themselves with the Duterte bloc led by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte because they remain supportive of the Marcos Jr. administration.
Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez, who was among the 34 lawmakers who abstained from voting last Monday during the election of the Speaker, said it would be difficult for their group, which is composed of him and Reps. Duke Frasco of Cebu City and Toby Tiangco of Navotas City, to merge with the Duterte bloc due to differences in their principles.
“It would be difficult if they’re (Duterte bloc) heading in a different direction. Us, we’re still in support of the President. We still believe and we’d go all out for this administration. We will not be an opposition, as in. For me, it’s independent. But then, in support of the President,” he said.
Benitez, Frasco and Tiangco were earlier touted to be possible contenders for the Speaker’s position which was kept by Romualdez, who was re-elected House leader for the second time after running unopposed.
